Almost five years ago, Stacked Farm was started by Daniel Tzvetkoff in Burleigh heads. The company, now led by Conrad Smith, set out to be Australia’s first automated vertical indoor farms producing fruit and vegetables all year round.
The rationale was clear - Australian weather is volatile, customers want seasonal produce all year round , vertical farming uses was less water than traditional methods and farms in central areas can cut-out the wholesaler (a boon for these products).
For now, the farm only produces salad greens and herbs however they have flagged that they have the capacity to produce tomatoes and berries. Since its (relatively) slow start in 2017, the company has:
Opened a $2m operation in QLD and completed R&D phase
Scaled up farm operations in Victoria (targeting 4,000sqm and capacity of 50 tonnes per week)
Obtained partnership with fresh produce suppliers (Morco Fresh, Sumo Salad and QSR) - thanks in part to Conrad's contacts
Partnered with the CSIRO to test out new product lines (e.g. berries)
Appears to be on track to start supplying supermarkets (albeit management suggest they do not have scale to do so currently)
So why don't we have more of these vertical farms??
Starting these operations requires big R&D budgets because instead of employing relatively unskilled staff (pickers/packers) like a traditional farm, Stacked Farm had to hire software engineers, mechanical engineers, CAD designers and of course horticultural scientists. Additionally, the R&D period can take many years....
Nonetheless, this proof of concept in Australia is great news. And it is likely that new entrants will enter the market to replicate/compete with Stacked Farm. Particularly as they transition to more product lines and expand into the stable grocery sector.
Today - the leaders in vertical farming is North America, thanks in part by the hydroponics sector. Asia (Japan and Singapore) as well as wider Europe have also adopted the practices
According to Grand View research, the global vertical farming market size was valued at USD 3.9 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at CAGR of c.24% over next 7 years. Outside of Australia, Stacked Farm have a particular interest in expanding into Gulf market where the country is particularly reliant on costly imports.
For now - it is great to see Australia's successful move into vertical farming.
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